Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has repeated his frustration over Cristhian Stuani's injury saga after revealing the striker is likely to miss out on Friday night's Championship clash with QPR, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm.

Karanka said on Thursday he had been left in the dark over Stuani's condition after was called up by Uruguay in the international break - despite struggling to recover from a double injury sustained during his last trip to South America in October.

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Stuani sat out the fixtures against Ecuador and Chile but Karanka believes the trip has almost certainly cost Stuani the chance to play on Friday as Boro look to bounce back from their painful 3-0 defeat at Hull.

Asked if the player would have recovered had he stayed in the north east, Karanka replied: "One hundred per cent - the plan was to work with him over the last two weeks because after six or seven weeks with the injury he was going to be ready.

"But now I don't know anything about him. All I know is he didn't play, so I will have to wait until I can speak to him. I know for sure he is not going to play at the beginning because he hasn't been training with us."

Karanka's mood will not have been lightened by the news that Venezuela international Fernando Amorebieta will not be available after picking up an injury during the defeat at the KC Stadium.

That loss served as a significant blow to Boro's aspirations of automatic promotion but Karanka insisted he could feel more positive about his side's performance after watching the game again on video.

He added: "I felt better after watching the game again than I did at the real game. We are not going to win every game and if we work in our way and are focused on our team then I am really confident."

Interim QPR boss Neil Warnock will miss the game for personal reasons so assistant Kevin Blackwell will take charge for the game.

Rangers sit 13th in the table after a draw with Preston last time out, but Karanka insists he will pay no heed of the form guide.

"They have a lot of players who have played in the Premier League and the Champions League and now they have an experienced manager, so it will be a difficult game for us.

"It will be even more difficult if we think QPR are a mid-table team because I think they have one of the best squads in the league."

Watch Middlesbrough v QPR in the Sky Bet Championship from 7pm on Friday night, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.

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